Brian Blair's Rite of Passage

The "rite of passage" for rookies in professional wrestling in the old-school days was not an easy one. Younger wrestlers had to "pay their dues," as it was called. 

That meant the younger wrestlers had to do most of the driving, while the older wrestlers laughed, drank beer, and told stories. 

Younger wrestlers were sometimes forced to drink straight whiskey out of a bottle, and the older wrestlers would turn on the inside light and mark the bottle to make sure the younger wrestlers were actually drinking.  

And many "ribs" were pulled on young wrestlers as well. "Ribs" were the practical jokes that wrestlers pulled on each other. 

Many of the practical jokes were actually quite vicious. Some of the more vicious ribbers were guys like: 

• Johnny Valentine (who put lighter fluid in Jay "The Alaskan" York's inhaler; 

• Tommy Billington, the Dynamite Kid, who would put mickeys in your drink that would either knock you out or prevent you from going to sleep; and 

• Mr. Fuji, who would put combination locks on your wrestling bag while you were in the ring, so when you got back to the dressing room, you couldn't get to your clothes!  

Those were the types of ribs played upon many wrestlers to test whether they could handle the business. And the rookies had to play along to show they had the "right attitude." Jack and Jerry Brisco were two of the worst ribbers of the young rookies, new to the business, that they would take under their wing. 

This is a story that current Hillsborough County Commissioner Brian Blair has told about a classic rib pulled on him by the Brisco Brothers.

One night after the wrestling matches in Orlando, Florida, the Brisco Brothers and Brian Blair were headed back to Tampa, drinking beer, when they passed some of the wrestlers. The Briscos told Blair that they were going to play a rib on the other guys. 

The Briscos stopped the car and told Blair to get in the trunk and pull down his pants; when they blew the horn, they were going to pop the trunk right in front of the other wrestlers. Blair was supposed to stand up and moon the guys as a rib. Blair the rookie, always ready to show the right attitude, readily agreed.

Blair pulled his pants down and hopped in the trunk. Sure enough, a few moments later, the car came to a stop, the horn blew, and Blair could hear the trunk pop open.

He knew it was time as he stood up in the trunk, bent over, and showed his ass through the front glass windows of a McDonald’s Restaurant the Briscos had backed up to! 

This rib was on the rookie!

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